Libya spends JD40m on hotels in Jordan

The Libyan authorities will soon pay the Kingdom’s hotels part of their outstanding dues for accommodating Libyan citizens, Libyan Deputy Prime Minister Omar Abdul Karim said on Monday. In a statement sent to The Jordan Times, Abdul Karim said JD40 million has already been transferred to Jordan and will be allocated to the Kingdom’s hotels. Jordan Hotels Association (JHA) Director Yasar Majali said the current dues owed to hotels across the Kingdom by the Libyan government stood at JD92 million. He told The Jordan Times that the JHA had not yet been notified of the JD40 million transfer and did not know which of the several Libyan committees in Jordan was responsible for it. There are currently 10,000 Libyans in the Kingdom’s hotels, according to Majali, who claimed that some hotels would not be able to operate if the Libyan authorities did not pay them within 48 hours. Meanwhile, the Libyan minister said his government would open a health office in Jordan to coordinate the admission of Libyan patients to the Kingdom’s hospitals and avoid any chaos that might affect the provision of healthcare services. Abdul Karim’s remarks came following a meeting with Health Minister Abdul Latif Wreikat on Monday. In order to ensure better coordination in the health sector between the two countries, Wreikat said at the meeting that Jordan would appoint a health attaché at the Kingdom’s embassy in Libya, according to the statement. The minister added that the ministry was ready to provide training for Libyans working in the medical sector. At the meeting, the Libyan minister also stressed that his government would pay the rest of its outstanding dues to the Kingdom’s hospitals soon, after auditing the bills. According to the Private Hospitals Association, the medical bills for more than 50,000 Libyans treated in the Kingdom’s hospitals total JD120 million, of which Libya has paid some JD70 million.